Contributed Photo
Nicolas Valdez of San Antonio's Los Nahuatlatos mixes traditional South Texas Latin music with modern elements at Dr. Rockit's on Sunday.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Ditch the synthetic beats of electronic dance music and tap into some regional rhythms on Sunday at Dr. Rockit's Blues Bar.

Headlining band Rook brings the finest upbeat and up-tempo grooves Austin has to offer while San Antonio's Los Nahuatlatos bridge the gap between Latin roots and coastal rhythms.

Coining the term 'skajunto,'Los Nahuatlatos prides itself on mixing traditional elements of South Texas Latin music with hints of modern edge. The group's name refers to children from South Texas tribes who were taken by Spanish conquistadors, forced to learn Spanish and then returned to South Texas as translators. The moniker is fitting since band members define themselves as a hybrid of cultural music.

Mixing Conjunto beats with hip-hop attitude all under traditional instrumentation, Los Nahuatlatos began three years ago with band members hailing from Del Rio, Lubbock, Monterrey, and San Antonio. Having covered both sides of the border's regional bases, band members mix their musical upbringings in a renegade approach to traditional music.

"Each of the members comes from different musical backgrounds and a few of the guys are working on their music degrees," said Nicolas Valdez, the band's accordion player. "I started playing traditional accordion when I was nine and it was out of a sense of pride for my family. In multigenerational Latino communities, the kids are influenced not only by pop culture but by the music of their parents and grandparents."

Tapping into the collective experience of being Latino in Texas, Los Nahuatlatos hope to spread their sound through the state one city at a time.

"We're trying to build a larger relationship with audiences in Texas as we are all sharing a sense of pride in our struggle as Latinos in the South. Culture is based on our roots and sound is roots, and we're building off the experiences of our ancestors," Valdez said.

Pulling elements from traditional regional music, Valdez expands on the perks of being a crossover genre band.

"We connect to multiple generations through our sound and the types of shows we play are more diverse because of that," Valdez added. "Our sound is overall more palpable because we're trying to fuse so many things."Catch Los Nahuatlatos and Rook on Sunday and don't be afraid to boogie.

"We definitely started off as a dance band and if people start moving to the music, there's a reciprocation in the live performance," Valdez said. "The culture of Latinos in South Texas is always evolving and this is the next version of that."